UPDATED...200 Bodies to be Moved!!!!

[madpants]

It is a terrible thing to do, nothing is sacred anymore, if the almighty council decides it wants a road there and they'll buy your house too as it's in the way who's going to stop them?

Does anyone get the impression from reading it that they saw digging up the cemetary as a way to get hold of the properties with compulsory purchase and as such was the backdoor getting the cp order?

I do like the comment on relocating the bodies to the council offices however, it could work!

[Lynn H]

I live in Blackburn but with the church being torn down i don't know where to look for the records.  Also i will be in hospital for a while so i will be a bit to busy. I sure hope that you find a list of names though because my Wood/Carter/ Blackledge and  Jackson familys all lived in the general area of the church. Please keep me posted as to how things are going and my son can print them off for me.
I sure hope we can get the list. I know i will do my best to help find the familys.
                                     
                                 Lynn H.

[nanny jan]

What about Tower Hamlets in London where they are planning to dig up 350,000+!  There's a thread on the ToT board.


Nanny Jan

[Sylviaann]

My house backs on to a small old burial ground.  About 35 years ago some of the bodies were dug up to make room for a road widening.  The bodies were taken to the local, newer, cemetary and the grave stones were placed along the wall of the burial ground.  They are now invisible because they are covered with ivy. 

Sylviaann

[Lynn H]

I'm fuming about this and am not in a position to do anything about it at the moment. I have checked out a few websites and to my horror i find "ERROR" on page. This leaves me to believe that the council are covering every angle to stop interferance. Please help.   
                                     
                                      Lynn H.

[trish251]

I fear it has happened many times before & will continue into the future. Where I live a major football field used to be a cemetery. Last time they rebuilt it, many more remains were found (which were reburied elsewhere).

What usually happens in terms of trying to find relatives - The person who originally was the funeral contact, is usually the person on the cemetery lists (I am the contact for my parents graves). When this person dies or moves from the registered address, those in charge of the cemetery, no longer have a contact. I am reasonably sure they do no research to find any relatives (would like to be proven wrong in this).

Trish

[andycand]

Hi
I'm pretty sure that there is legislation regarding the removal from cemeteries. Is it a church owned cemetery or a municipal one? I'm not sure how it works if its church owned but if its municipal then the council will try and contact the owner of the plot. Unfortunately as Trish says people move or die and the councils records become out of date. The council would probably put signs at the cemetery. My understanding is that its not just a matter of being related but of being able to prove that they have ownership of the plot. You would really need to see the legislation.
Andy

[Ecneps]

Went to a Hull cemetery where my greatgrandparents are buried, no trace of their grave, although I was told where it was, they have taken the white marble surrounds from old graves and used them to edge the paths, to make grass-cutting easier I think. I hope they did try to contact relatives first but it must be a difficult job as Trish pointed out, once people have moved away or died. 

The only trouble is they've turned the stones round so that any inscriptions cannot be read.  Good job I have an old postcard photograph of the grave, which my grandmother kept!

Barbara

[JenB]

Have a look at this vandalism in Outwell http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~cawthorn/Church&Chapel/Clearance/index.html  and here is what the churchyard looks like now http://www.harrisonmurray.co.uk/property_detail.php?id=012557. In this case the bodies have not been moved, they are just in someone's garden.

Jennifer